Cracks are beginning to show in the Senate GOP's unity as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown stretches into its 38th day ... read more
Russia is pushing its Max messenger -- a social media platform without encryption -- onto its citizens with a massive promotion campaign and the simultaneous blocking of Whatsapp and Telegram, the country's two most popular messenger apps.
For generations now, the GOP has been far more comfortable than its opponents in quoting Bible verses and talking about how Christianity informs its politics. Democrats, meanwhile, have largely shied away from public proclamations of faith -- such that critics say they have seemed apologetic about Christianity.
Investigators probing the deadly collision of an Air Canada jet with a fire truck at New York's LaGuardia airport said on Monday they wanted to interview an air traffic controller who was juggling another emergency in the run-up to the crash.
President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans to remain in Washington, DC, over the Easter recess to force passage of the SAVE America Act alongside funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), telling lawmakers to stay in the capital "for Jesus" rather than return home for the holiday.
@#74 ... Yeah it's almost like when they sign a treaty with the USA, a new president comes in and just rips it up because he's jealous that the treaty signer had a bigger blacker dick than his. ...
But that agreement was not just between the US and Iran. It also incorporated many other countries.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action
en.wikipedia.org
... also known as the Iran nuclear deal or Iran deal, was an agreement to limit the Iranian nuclear program in return for sanctions relief and other provisions.
The agreement was finalized in Vienna on 14 July 2015, between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) -- China, France, Russia, the U.K., U.S. -- plus Germany)[a] together with the European Union. ...
That's quite the collection of various nations that fmr Pres Obama pulled together for the agreement.
Yet, Pres Trump just tore it up, and seems to want to go it alone with his current assault on Iran...
Another view ...
John Fetterman's Net Approval Dropped By More Than 100 Points Since His Election In Pennsylvania
www.latintimes.com
... Democratic Senator John Fetterman has seen his approval level plummet by more than 100 points since he was elected three years ago, according to a new report.
"There's no historical analog to his unpopularity," CNN's Harry Enten said when describing the senator's current approval levels. "There's no historical analog to his unpopularity," he added.
Enten went on to detail that Fetterman's popularity among Democrats is worse than all sitting senators who lost their primary election this century. And several Pennsylvania Democrats are already angling for his ouster.
Some began making louder calls after Fetterman's vote to advance Markwayne Mullin's nomination to become the next Department of Homeland Security secretary.
"Once again Sen Fetterman shows why he is Trump's favorite Democrat. He needs to go," said Rep. Brendan Boyle, who also represents Pennsylvania, last week. Axios detailed that he is rumored as a potential primary challenger of Fetterman, and while he has criticized him in the past, it is the first time he calls for his removal.
The outlet went on to note that Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, also representing Pennsylvania, had urged her constituents to call Fetterman's office and ask him to oppose the nomination. She reacted to the development at a town hall on Thursday, saying he has "more success" working with the other side of the aisle. ...
Interesting ...
OpEd: John Fetterman Is Historically Unpopular, Brutal Polls Show
www.yahoo.com
... When Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman was elected in 2023, the Democratic Party thought it might have a new kind of leader.
The gruff, hoodie-wearing Fetterman was able to win over the working class in the country's most important swing state and defeat his Republican challenger, Mehmet Oz, despite suffering a stroke in the middle of the campaign.
As it turns out, the Democratic establishment was right -- just not in the way they thought.
Since Fetterman's election, his net approval with Pennsylvania Democrats has dropped 108 points, from +68 in 2023 to -40 in 2026, as CNN's Harry Enten reported Friday.
"He's down there with the Titanic," Enten said. "There's no historical analog to his unpopularity."...
@#6,7 ... Meanwhile, Trump and buddies have been making billions and depositing it into Qatari bank accounts.
Anyone who thought a billionaire was going to help the middle class is an idiot. ...
It does appear that grift is the major goal of Pres Trump and those close to him.
Trump Son-in-Law's Fund Rakes in Billions Amid Grifting Accusations
www.thedailybeast.com
... Trump's son-in-law's private investment fund has surged by billions of dollars in value, new regulatory filings reveal.
Affinity Partners, the firm Jared Kushner runs with money gathered largely from government-backed funds across the Middle East, saw its assets soar to $6.2 billion at the end of 2025, according to a filing seen by Bloomberg.
That 30 percent rise has come as Democrats accuse the president's son-in-law of using his front-row seat at some of the world's most sensitive diplomatic negotiations to line his own pockets. ...
Meanwhile, concurrently...
FAA issues ground stop at Newark Airport after smoke in control tower
www.nj.com
...The Federal Aviation Administration issued a brief ground stop Monday morning for all flights at Newark Liberty International Airport after an incident in an air traffic control tower.
All arrivals and departures from the airport were grounded around 7:30 a.m.
Flights resumed at 8:05 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the Port Authority.
ABC-7 reported air traffic controllers were evacuated due to smoke inside the tower.
The incident occurred hours after two pilots were killed and several others hurt when an Air Canada regional jet struck a fire truck on a runway at New York's LaGuardia Airport late Sunday night. ...
So... two of the three very major airports in the NYC area were shutdown.
Hidden Climate Trigger? What Scientists Found Beneath Our Soil (March 1, 2026)
economictimes.indiatimes.com
...Alaska's permafrost remains one of the largest carbon reservoirs in the country. As Arctic temperatures rise faster than the global average, researchers closely monitor thawing ground. ...
Research in Nature Climate Change highlights the risk of permafrost thaw.
When frozen soil warms, microbes begin breaking down long-buried organic matter. This process releases carbon dioxide and methane, both of which trap heat.
Scientists describe this as a potential feedback loop.
More warming leads to more thawing, which leads to more emissions. ...
Tangentially related...
Middle East War Spurs Emissions From Oil and Gas Sites, Satellites Show
financialpost.com
... The conflict in the Middle East appears to have forced some oil and gas companies to directly burn off more natural gas than usual as their facilities have come under attack or exports have been blocked, releasing planet-warming pollution.
An increase in emissions is a relatively minor issue against the loss of life and economic chaos wrought by the war, yet it shows one of many unanticipated consequences from the fighting. Before the war, efforts to cut down on excess flaring had become a focus for investors keen to rein in waste and greenhouse gases.
From Feb. 28 to March 22, the United Arab Emirates' Das Island liquefied natural gas plant flared enough to add the equivalent of about 74,100 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, according to analysis by investigative consultancy Data Desk and Bloomberg calculations. Meanwhile, Qatar's Ras Laffan facility, the world's largest LNG export hub, added roughly 101,300 tons of CO2 equivalent, on par with the annual emissions from more than 20,000 cars.
Higher flaring volumes are "likely linked to facility shutdowns, whether following direct strikes, as a preventive measure, or because of limited storage capacity elsewhere," said BloombergNEF analyst Maria-Olivia Torcea. That "may have required a controlled release of gas from pipes, vessels and other equipment through venting and flaring," she said. ...
OpEd: Why Biden didn't release the Epstein files -- but maybe should have (February 2026)
thehill.com
... In December, former Vice President Kamala Harris told late-night host Jimmy Kimmel why the Biden Administration had not released the so-called Epstein files during the four years that President Joe Biden was in office.
"We strongly and rightly believed that there should be an absolute separation between what we wanted as an administration and what the Department of Justice did," she said. "We absolutely adhered to that."
Just a month earlier, Harris had criticized President Trump for waiting for Congress to act. "Release the files," she said. "He is the president of the United States, the head of the executive branch."
So which is it? Did Biden have the authority to release the files or not? Should he have wielded it or not? The answer is a bit of both.
What Harris is suggesting is that Biden left that decision to his Attorney General, Merrick Garland. Garland viewed it as his role to defend the Justice Department's independence vigorously from political influence. ...
@#15 ... We all know that ..
When I see a comment that seems to profess what is mentioned in the comment as what ~we all know,~ my first thought is to just dismiss the comment.